harry potter -- the heart for it
Dec. 7th, 2010 10:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anythingbutgreythe heart for it.
harry potter, cho, neville/cho
deathly hallows slight AU. for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hyacinthian at the harry potter non-canon ships ficathon
Being seen in this war means an X over your name, and Cho cannot tolerate the sight of her own blood.
In the common room, Cho pulls her knees to her chest. There's a space next to her where Luna normally is. Luna's been gone for days now. Cho doesn't think about it, nor does she think about the way that various corners of the room seem to stare at her. Ravenclaws are not known for their fighting. They're known for thinking. Cho is, for better or worse, known for both. On some level, she does like that, being known, but she would prefer to be invisible. Being seen in this war means an X over your name, and Cho cannot tolerate the sight of her own blood.
Someone calls a hissing blood traitor from across the room. Voldemort might breed in Slytherin but that doesn't mean he can't slip outside, sneak into the calm silver and blue commons of this house. There are no uninfected homes these days. Cho clenches her toes in her shoes, but does not otherwise flinch. A reaction is as good as a confession. Still, it makes her skin creep, makes her think of her parents tucked away and not thinking that their daughter is fighting a war. Cho is braver than people think she is. You have one emotional breakdown over a dead boyfriend and everyone thinks you can't carry any weight.
A first year waddles up to her and taps her on the shoulder. Cho jumps at the intrusion, and then turns around, setting her Charms textbook face down on her lap.
"Neville wants to see you," the first year sputters. She puts the emphasis on the wrong place in Neville's name, and Cho imagines this girl has never heard of Neville Longbottom before. It takes a long time before houses start speaking to each other. Cho thinks this is a shame. They're not all so different, in the end. Cho whispers a thank you to this girl, this child, and tries not to think of the many years ago when Cho was her, when she walked through the Ravenclaw common room unable to breathe she was so enchanted. It doesn't seem like seven years ago. It feels like decades. Her bones ache. She ignores the stares that accompany her exit from the common room and breathes a little easier when she steps outside, when Neville turns to her, smiling.
Cho grins back. She feels safe around Neville. He has become their accidental leader, and the role, surprisingly, suits him. He walks taller than he ever has, though with a constant air of caution, like death could leap out of any corridor. These days, it could, and Neville thinks he has to protect all of them before himself. Cho is starting to get the feeling that Gryffindors are all warriors with self-sacrificial complexes.
"I was going to do some touring around the halls," Neville says. By touring, he means snooping, and it would be dangerous these days but Neville can get away with a lot of things. Everyone still remembers the small, shaking boy he used to be. Being perpetually underestimated will allow anyone to get away with unimaginable things.
"Looking for company?" Cho asks, but they're already walking toward the stairs. Her skin prickles. She is not as brave as Neville is. Ravenclaws are cautionary people. Neville would leap into battle, wand at the ready, while Cho would stand back and draw plans. She is not built for wandering the halls in a building owned by Severus Snape. But she also knows that Neville would never let anything happen to her, so she keeps going.
"I wanted to see how you were doing," Neville says as they walk down the stairs. "With Luna."
Neville chokes on the word, briefly. Cho watches him. Luna was a key part of the Neville-Ginny-Luna troika of heroism. Without her, they've been off-balance for days. Cho can talk about her sorrow and worry at Luna's absence, but it will never match theirs. Theirs is a world Cho cannot fit into. This is a familiar tale. But Cho doesn't say this. Cho shoves her hands into the pockets of her robes and taps her finger along the tip of her wand. She sleeps with it in her hands these days, like a child with her stuffed animal.
"I'm okay," she whispers. She has a feeling this conversation is as much for Neville as for her, like if she starts to talk about Luna maybe he can find something to say. Cho saw Ginny crying in the girl's bathroom last week. Ginny didn't see her.
"I know it must be hard," Neville says, staring into the distance, his steps matched with Cho's. "She was—she is a... good person to have around."
Cho laughs a little, thinking of Luna's antics. There was always something, some invisible beast responsible for missing socks or ticking sounds only Luna could hear. They needed that. Cho needed that. And she needed that in the Ravenclaw wing in a war that she often felt shut out of.
"What's hard," she says, because this she can say, this she feels she must, "is being one of the very few Ravenclaws in our band of merry men. It's hard being the only Chinese girl at this damn school. It's hard being that girl who betrayed Harry Potter for her best friend in fifth year. It's hard fighting a war when everyone still expects you to burst into tears at the drop of a hat. That's what's hard."
By the end, she feels slightly breathless. She hadn't meant to say that much. Neville has already stopped walking, and she has paused alongside him, not looking him in the eye. People are used to Ravenclaws like Luna, who, highly visible and notorious in her own right, doesn't really get... angry would be the best word to use. Cho gets angry. Cho is often angry. Not many people will listen. Neville always listens.
Cho sighs and looks away. "Sometimes it's just hard to remember why I'm fighting this. I don't know how you're not exhausted. Even I can barely stand and you're—you're much more of a fighter than me. I could never be that brave."
Neville peers at her for a long moment. It makes her feel like he's looking at some part of her she doesn't want him to see, and makes her skin itch.
"I think you're more of a fighter than you realize," Neville whispers in the dark. He reaches to her and brushes his thumb against her cheek. His hands are warm in the dark, cold corridor that grows colder each day. "And I think you're very brave."
harry potter, cho, neville/cho
deathly hallows slight AU. for
hyacinthian at the harry potter non-canon ships ficathonBeing seen in this war means an X over your name, and Cho cannot tolerate the sight of her own blood.
In the common room, Cho pulls her knees to her chest. There's a space next to her where Luna normally is. Luna's been gone for days now. Cho doesn't think about it, nor does she think about the way that various corners of the room seem to stare at her. Ravenclaws are not known for their fighting. They're known for thinking. Cho is, for better or worse, known for both. On some level, she does like that, being known, but she would prefer to be invisible. Being seen in this war means an X over your name, and Cho cannot tolerate the sight of her own blood.
Someone calls a hissing blood traitor from across the room. Voldemort might breed in Slytherin but that doesn't mean he can't slip outside, sneak into the calm silver and blue commons of this house. There are no uninfected homes these days. Cho clenches her toes in her shoes, but does not otherwise flinch. A reaction is as good as a confession. Still, it makes her skin creep, makes her think of her parents tucked away and not thinking that their daughter is fighting a war. Cho is braver than people think she is. You have one emotional breakdown over a dead boyfriend and everyone thinks you can't carry any weight.
A first year waddles up to her and taps her on the shoulder. Cho jumps at the intrusion, and then turns around, setting her Charms textbook face down on her lap.
"Neville wants to see you," the first year sputters. She puts the emphasis on the wrong place in Neville's name, and Cho imagines this girl has never heard of Neville Longbottom before. It takes a long time before houses start speaking to each other. Cho thinks this is a shame. They're not all so different, in the end. Cho whispers a thank you to this girl, this child, and tries not to think of the many years ago when Cho was her, when she walked through the Ravenclaw common room unable to breathe she was so enchanted. It doesn't seem like seven years ago. It feels like decades. Her bones ache. She ignores the stares that accompany her exit from the common room and breathes a little easier when she steps outside, when Neville turns to her, smiling.
Cho grins back. She feels safe around Neville. He has become their accidental leader, and the role, surprisingly, suits him. He walks taller than he ever has, though with a constant air of caution, like death could leap out of any corridor. These days, it could, and Neville thinks he has to protect all of them before himself. Cho is starting to get the feeling that Gryffindors are all warriors with self-sacrificial complexes.
"I was going to do some touring around the halls," Neville says. By touring, he means snooping, and it would be dangerous these days but Neville can get away with a lot of things. Everyone still remembers the small, shaking boy he used to be. Being perpetually underestimated will allow anyone to get away with unimaginable things.
"Looking for company?" Cho asks, but they're already walking toward the stairs. Her skin prickles. She is not as brave as Neville is. Ravenclaws are cautionary people. Neville would leap into battle, wand at the ready, while Cho would stand back and draw plans. She is not built for wandering the halls in a building owned by Severus Snape. But she also knows that Neville would never let anything happen to her, so she keeps going.
"I wanted to see how you were doing," Neville says as they walk down the stairs. "With Luna."
Neville chokes on the word, briefly. Cho watches him. Luna was a key part of the Neville-Ginny-Luna troika of heroism. Without her, they've been off-balance for days. Cho can talk about her sorrow and worry at Luna's absence, but it will never match theirs. Theirs is a world Cho cannot fit into. This is a familiar tale. But Cho doesn't say this. Cho shoves her hands into the pockets of her robes and taps her finger along the tip of her wand. She sleeps with it in her hands these days, like a child with her stuffed animal.
"I'm okay," she whispers. She has a feeling this conversation is as much for Neville as for her, like if she starts to talk about Luna maybe he can find something to say. Cho saw Ginny crying in the girl's bathroom last week. Ginny didn't see her.
"I know it must be hard," Neville says, staring into the distance, his steps matched with Cho's. "She was—she is a... good person to have around."
Cho laughs a little, thinking of Luna's antics. There was always something, some invisible beast responsible for missing socks or ticking sounds only Luna could hear. They needed that. Cho needed that. And she needed that in the Ravenclaw wing in a war that she often felt shut out of.
"What's hard," she says, because this she can say, this she feels she must, "is being one of the very few Ravenclaws in our band of merry men. It's hard being the only Chinese girl at this damn school. It's hard being that girl who betrayed Harry Potter for her best friend in fifth year. It's hard fighting a war when everyone still expects you to burst into tears at the drop of a hat. That's what's hard."
By the end, she feels slightly breathless. She hadn't meant to say that much. Neville has already stopped walking, and she has paused alongside him, not looking him in the eye. People are used to Ravenclaws like Luna, who, highly visible and notorious in her own right, doesn't really get... angry would be the best word to use. Cho gets angry. Cho is often angry. Not many people will listen. Neville always listens.
Cho sighs and looks away. "Sometimes it's just hard to remember why I'm fighting this. I don't know how you're not exhausted. Even I can barely stand and you're—you're much more of a fighter than me. I could never be that brave."
Neville peers at her for a long moment. It makes her feel like he's looking at some part of her she doesn't want him to see, and makes her skin itch.
"I think you're more of a fighter than you realize," Neville whispers in the dark. He reaches to her and brushes his thumb against her cheek. His hands are warm in the dark, cold corridor that grows colder each day. "And I think you're very brave."
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-12-08 03:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-08 03:24 am (UTC)YOU ARE TOO KIIIIND. :D
i actually had never thought of these kids until
no subject
Date: 2010-12-08 05:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-08 05:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-08 05:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-08 05:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-08 06:32 am (UTC)i loved. i like that i love cho now. i was blinded by trying to protect my potter boy and hermione.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-08 06:33 am (UTC)cho. fierce bitch. my hearts.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-08 06:34 am (UTC)not that hermione doesn't have things to, obvi. but harry is one of those things she must care for. and she's cool with that noise. because love.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-08 06:43 am (UTC)but i meant, in ootp i got upset at her bc she was like "that's fine go to that hermione granger." or something like that. doesn't matter.
all is clear now and love. &hearts&hearts
no subject
Date: 2010-12-08 01:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-08 07:17 am (UTC)OMG ELYSSA WHY ARE YOU SO AWESOMEEEEEE
I also now like Cho? What?
no subject
Date: 2010-12-08 01:20 pm (UTC)